September 2013 marked a breaktrhough in US-Iran diplomacy when US President Barack Obama conducted a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rohani
(Source: Tehran's Etamaad daily's front page)

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) commends the 104 Members of Congress who signed the bipartisan "Give Diplomacy a Chance" letter sent to President Obama today. NIAC applauds the efforts of Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rep. David Price (D-NC) and everyone who worked to make this letter a success.

"This letter is a strong signal of support for U.S.-Iran diplomacy and opposition to Congressional measures that would undermine a final deal," said NIAC Policy Director Jamal Abdi. "These Members of Congress don't want our negotiators tied up in the political disputes of Washington, they want them focused on preventing war and resolving the nuclear dispute."

NIAC has opposed the Senate sanctions bill (S.1881) from Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) that was recently halted and strongly supports negotiations towards a final deal that ensures that Iran's nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes. NIAC urges Congress to ensure negotiators can exercise full diplomatic leverage by offering credible sanctions relief for Iranian nuclear concessions.

"This effort is another important step in the right direction to ensuring hardliners on either side do not sabotage a negotiated settlement," said Abdi. "It is critical that our negotiators have a strong mandate not only from the American people and the Administration, but also from the Hill because it is Congress who will ultimately decide whether we lift sanctions to finalize a deal.”

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Mr. President,

As Members of Congress-and as Americans-we are united in our unequivocal commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would threaten the security of the United States and our allies in the region, particularly Israel.

The ongoing implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed to by Iran and the “P5+1” nations last November increases the possibility of a comprehensive and verifiable international agreement. We understand that there is no assurance of success and that, if talks break down or Iran reneges on pledges it made in the interim agreement, Congress may be compelled to act as it has in the past by enacting additional sanctions legislation. At present, however, we believe that Congress must give diplomacy a chance. A bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement, must be avoided.

We remain wary of the Iranian regime. But we believe that robust diplomacy remains our best possible strategic option, and we commend you and your designees for the developments in Geneva. Should negotiations fail or falter, nothing precludes a change in strategy. But we must not imperil the possibility of a diplomatic success before we even have a chance to pursue it.